Location Southeastern Asia, bordering the Gulf of Thailand, Gulf of Tonkin, and South China Sea, alongside China, Laos, and Cambodia

Geographic coordinates 16 00 N, 106 00 E

Map references Southeast Asia

Area
total: 329,560 sq km
land: 325,360 sq km
water: 4,200 sq km

Area - comparative slightly larger than New Mexico

Land boundaries
total: 4,639 km
border countries: Cambodia 1,228 km, China 1,281 km, Laos 2,130 km

Coastline 3,444 km (excludes islands)

Maritime claims
contiguous zone: 24 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM

Climate tropical in south; monsoonal in north with hot, rainy season (mid-May to mid-September) and warm, dry season (mid-October to mid-March)

Terrain low, flat delta in south and north; central highlands; hilly, mountainous in far north and northwest

Elevation extremes
lowest point: South China Sea 0 m
highest point: Ngoc Linh 3,143 m

Natural resources phosphates, coal, manganese, bauxite, chromate, offshore oil and gas deposits, forests, hydropower

Land use
arable land: 17%
permanent crops: 5%
other: 78% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land 30,000 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards occasional typhoons (May to January) with extensive flooding, especially in the Mekong River delta

Environment - current issues logging and slash-and-burn agricultural practices contribute to deforestation and soil degradation; water pollution and overfishing threaten marine life populations; groundwater contamination limits potable water supply; growing urban industrialization and population migration are rapidly degrading environment in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City

Environment - international agreements
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Nuclear Test Ban

Geography - note extending 1,650 km north to south, the country is only 50 km across at its narrowest point

NOTE: The information regarding Vietnam on this page is re-published from the 2002 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Vietnam Geography 2002 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Vietnam Geography 2002 should be addressed to the CIA.